Fabio's gift heaven Bent

AS FABIO CAPELLO sits down to work out England’s striking ­permutations for next week’s friendly against Germany, a number of thoughts will be running through his head – and near the forefront will be Darren Bent.

Tottenham striker Bent’s double against Manchester Citymakes him the top English goalscorer in the Premier League with seven.

It will be almost a year to the day since Bent won his last international cap when Capello’s men take on Germany in Berlin next Wednesday. And the prospect of him adding to his England appearances looked remote in the extreme under previous Spurs manager Juande Ramos.

But Bent has scored seven goals in five games since Harry Redknapp took over at White Hart Lane and he is ­finally ­beginning to justify the £16.5million fee Tottenham paid Charlton for him in June 2007.

“Harry is showing more belief in me than Juande did and I’m starting to repay that,” said Bent. “He has played me in the majority of the games since he took over and I’m just trying to keep fit and stay focused. He hasn’t complicated anything.

“No disrespect to Ramos, but under him things were a bit too ­particular, whereas Harry has come in and we are all relaxed. He’s shown everyone that they are good ­players and that he believes in all of them.”

Spurs captain Ledley King is among Bent’s growing band of ­supporters and believes he deserves another chance at international level.

“Darren’s finishing is superb,” said King. “From my point of view, he deserves his chance to play for England. He is the top English scorer in the Premier League and that speaks for itself. It’s no ­surprise what he’s doing now.

A year ago we had three other strikers at Spurs, so his chances were limited. But he has always scored goals at this level.”

Emile Heskey’s hamstring injury is set to open up a place among the strikers in a squad that should include Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch. Capello counts Theo Walcott as a right-sided ­midfielder at the moment, so he is likely to choose either Bent or Gabriel Agbonlahor of Aston Villa as his fourth striker.

Capello has made two checks on Agbonlahor and will watch Bent and his Tottenham team-mates in Carling Cup action against Liverpool at White Hart Lane tomorrow night.

Andy Johnson also hopes his name will be one of those ­nudging Capello’s memory. Johnson knows he can do little better than rattle in three goals in three games for Fulham.

It was not just his goal against Newcastle on Sunday that set his side on the way to a 2-1 win, but his busy all-round display, which saw him earn the penalty that sealed victory.

It was in stark contrast to the fortunes of another striker. Former England hero Michael Owen, with 89 caps to his name, was called upon only in the 70th minute by Magpies manager Joe Kinnear and then fluffed the only chance that came to him.

Owen, as Kinnear admitted, is still not 100 per cent fit, the brief outing at Fulham only his second game after a month out with yet another groin problem.

Johnson’s name is unlikely to figure in Capello’s thinking this time, but he wants the manager to know that, even though it is 14 months since his last ­international outing, he is ready for the call.

“Of course England are in my thoughts,” said Johnson. “I ­definitely have ambitions to get back into the squad. I have been there before, for three-and-a-half years I was in squads, so I haven’t changed over a year.

“The fact that I was out was down to a lack of playing last year at Everton with injuries. But coming to Fulham has given me the edge again that comes with playing.

“I’ve been enjoying my football in the last few games and it shows.

“All I can do is score goals and long may that continue. I’ll keep my fingers crossed but, at the moment, it would be a bonus.

“The main thing is getting as many points on the board for Fulham, scoring as many goals and playing as well as I can for the team. Hopefully that will bring the other things.”

Johnson’s last England ­outing was as a substitute in the 3-0 Euro 2008 qualifying ­victory over Israel at Wembley under Steve McClaren. But he is likely to be kept waiting beyond Friday’s announcement of the squad for the game in Germany.

As for Owen, another few weeks at the coalface are surely needed before Capello will even consider his name. Team-mate Nicky Butt just wants Owen to get fit and help his club out of the relegation mire.

Butt said: “Michael is just taking his time to come back. I’m sure the manager knows what he’s all about. We don’t want Michael to come back too quickly and then lose him for months and months. We need him to come gently back in and make his mark that way.

“Everyone at the club wants him to stay. He wants to stay himself, but there’s nobody you can speak to about contracts at the minute.”